Upon Your Return
by South.for.Winter
Summary: Fulfilling a prompt: (FTL/AU) Robin's away with his merry men for like a month or so to aid villages rebuild after defeating Zelena. When he returns, Regina needs to tell him she's pregnant. She found out she was already several months along before he left, only was too scared to say anything...full prompt inside.


**A lot of you will recognize this from tumblr, but for those of you who haven't seen it yet, this was done for a prompt.**

Upon Your Return

_Prompt: (FTL/AU) Robin's away with his merry men for like a month or so to aid villages rebuild after defeating Zelena. When he returns, Regina needs to tell him she's pregnant. She found out she was already several months along before he left, only was too scared to say anything. It isn't until he wants to "take her to bed" that he discovers her belly under a well-concealed Evil Queen-type gown. Pretty please :D_

The sound of horses and laughing men approaching brought cheers from several people in the courtyard. The Merry Men had been absent for nearly a month now and their presence had been sorely missed in the castle.

Regina watched with mixed feelings from a balcony high above. Even as her heart sped up with the excitement of seeing him again, her hand rose to rest on her stomach and she was reminded of the ever larger secret she'd been keeping; from him and everyone else.

As if he knew she was there, Robin turned to look up in her direction. It was too far to tell really, but it looked as though he were smiling. She dropped her hand and despite everything, smiled a bit herself.

Unable to keep the distance between them any longer, she made her way down to where the former outlaws were now being warmly welcomed into the castle.

"Your Majesty." Robin's voice carried across the entrance hall. Of course he'd immediately spotted her. If he'd been smiling before, he was positively grinning now.

"Thief," she replied flatly, though her eyes sparkled. "I do hope the journey wasn't too trying. I know how attached your men have grown to a less…active…lifestyle."

Robin feigned offense as he scoffed. "You imply that my men and I have grown lazy?" he asked, hand to his heart. "And after we helped to rid this land of the Wicked Witch? Such gratitude, milady."

She'd missed this. Their banter, throwing playful barbs at one another, the secretive glances they shared when no one else was looking. In his absence, she'd convinced herself that it was meaningless and one-sided. A dalliance she'd imagined to be more than it was.

But with the way he was smiling at her, she felt the destructive thoughts of the last month melt away. The insecurity and fear of how he'd react to her news remained strong, but she no longer questioned that he'd felt the same as she had. At least for now.

"Papa!"

Robin barely had time to react before a pint-sized ball of energy knocked into him at full speed. "Roland, my boy!" He swung the giggling child up into a bear hug. "Were you a good boy while I was away?" He looked at Regina and back to Roland, who nodded very seriously.

"Yes, papa. Gina was pressed with how good I was."

"Impressed?" Robin questioned with a raised eyebrow. "A difficult task to impress the queen, to be sure. How ever did you manage?"

"I eated all my vegables and went to bed on time."

"I should be asking how _you_ managed," Robin said, following as Regina led the way into the dining hall. "No one has ever managed such a feat."

"If I told you, I'd be making your life easier, and we can't have that now, can we?" She smirked at him over Roland's shoulder and he shook his head at her, chuckling.

"Never."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

"Alone at last!" Robin exclaimed, pushing the doors to her chambers firmly shut behind him. "I was beginning to think the celebrations would never end."

"Robin," she started, feeling the familiar twisting of nerves.

"I'm glad our return was so eagerly anticipated, but I've been waiting all night to see you again. I've missed you," he told her, closing the distance between them. His hand went to her cheek and she couldn't help but lean into the touch.

"I've missed you as well," she admitted, forgetting herself for a moment. "More than I thought possible." She finished off the space as she pressed her lips to his hungrily.

He eagerly returned the movement, his hand sliding up into her hair as he deepened the kiss, opening her mouth with his own.

"There's something I need to tell you," she breathed, wishing they could go on forever. But he needed to know.

"Mmm," Robin hummed, half question, half sigh at seeing her after so long. He missed the contact when she pulled back slightly. "Not another foe to disrupt our less active lifestyles, I hope?"

She chuckled. "Well you do need something to keep you on your toes. We wouldn't want you growing lax."

He took in her arched eyebrow and couldn't help when his eyes wandered over the rest of her figure, fully appreciating it now that they were away from the prying eyes of gossiping castle-dwellers. She wore one of her many dark gowns, this one an extravagant black ruffled ensemble which hid her glorious curves, save her breasts, which were displayed quite prominently. And which seemed larger then he remembered, he thought with a grin. "I plan to prove to you how wrong you are."

"Wrong?"

"Yes. Milady seems to be under the impression that I'm less active than I once was."

She felt desire course through her in a sudden rush of heat, but she couldn't allow herself to succumb to it. "Robin," she tried again.

"As much as I admire these dresses on you, I must admit I'm not fond of how difficult they are to remove."

She let out a laugh at his expression of frustration, reminded of their many late-night trysts before he'd gone to help rebuild the outer villages.

He finally managed to loosen the ties at her back, and she once again felt herself melt into him as he kissed feverishly down her neck, continuing low enough for her breath to hitch before she'd managed to recall what it was she'd been trying to tell him.

"Robin. About what I needed to tell you?"

"Ah, yes. Something was troubling you?" he asked. He returned to her mouth, reveling in the way she enthusiastically returned each of his kisses. He finally managed to slide the dress from her shoulders, allowing it to fall to the ground. His hands found their way back to her hair until she reached for them with her own.

"I've been trying to tell you," she told him, and this time her voice was timid – something he'd never heard from her before.

He stopped his movements and allowed her to guide his hands to her waist. When they stopped on her curved abdomen, he looked down in shock to see her unmistakably rounded belly.

"I wanted to tell you before you left, but I was afraid and I kept finding excuses for why it wasn't the right time." Her hands dropped, but his remained frozen on her middle. "I understand if you want nothing more to do with me," she said quietly. "I just felt you should know before it becomes apparent to everyone."

He continued to stand in silence and she felt the familiar, but no less painful pang of rejection as he stared.

"I…Regina…" He looked up at her and caught the hurt expression, his own morphing into concern. "Why would I want nothing to do with you?" he asked.

She looked up from the floor in surprise. "What?"

"_Especially_ now," he told her. "It's unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome." His hands finally moved, gently caressing the slightly stretched skin. "In fact, I think it's rather wonderful."

Her eyes closed as she felt the comfort of his warm hands, and tears threatened to escape. "Really?"

One hand moved up to cup her cheek once more and she opened her eyes to find that he was now smiling widely. "I hope it's a little girl," he confessed, quickly embracing the idea. "A miniature version of you."

"Ah, but she'd be a daddy's girl," Regina told him, smiling as he pressed a kiss to her lips. "Though it could just as well be a boy."

He shook his head. "I have a feeling it won't be." She felt the fear fall away completely at the love in his expression.

"You're alright with this?" she asked, just to be sure.

"The thought of a baby that we made? Half of you and half of me?" He shook his head in wonder.

"Well…" she narrowed her eyes mischievously, "I never actually said it was yours."

He let out a bark of laughter as he pulled her to him. "I can't wait," he told her.

"Neither can I."


End file.
